title: The association between self-reported change in vote for the presidential election of 2012 and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms following Hurricane Sandy.
abstract: The relationship between vote change for the presidential election in 2012 and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has not been previously explored. An online sample of 1000 people mainly from New York Metropolitan Area was surveyed during the fourth week of November 2012 after Hurricane Sandy, shortly after the US Presidential election. Participants completed a questionnaire battery which included disaster related questions and PTSD symptoms. Logistic regression revealed a significant association between vote change and elevated risk for PTSD symptoms. This result may indicate that PTSD symptoms are associated with behavioral actions such as vote change.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel. Electronic address: menbe@ariel.ac.il.
authors.forename: Menachem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ben-Ezra
authors.forename: Yuval
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Palgi
authors.forename: G James
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Yaira
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamama-Raz
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goodwin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D003657:Decision Making; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D011057:Politics; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Decision making; Disaster; Hurricane; PTSD; Trauma